Review: In the Night Garden Live

Review: In the Night Garden Live

ENCHANTING, magical and completely bonkers – In the Night Garden Live came to life on stage at The Anvil delighting the young audience.

Aimed at pre-school children, the popular BAFTA award-winning CBeebies television programme was transformed for the theatre with full-size costumes, puppets and music.

It might have all felt a little bit bizarre for the adults, but the children were engaged and in awe as their favourite characters danced, sang, and had lots of fun in a magical garden wonderland.

A little boy sat behind us could barely contain his excitement when Upsy Daisy made an appearance, shouting her name at the top of his voice with much enthusiasm.

It was a good job the music was loud enough to compete with all the excitement.

All the main characters made an appearance, with an audible ooh made in unison as each was revealed in both puppet form and full-sized costume.

The set included twinkling stars, trees, and mesmerising visual effects, with creative techniques used to capture children’s imagination.

The hour-long show was just the right amount of time for little ones to sit still and remain engaged.

My son was entranced throughout, even bopping along to the music at one point, waving to the characters as they exited the stage and staring up above us thrilled and amazed as a boat soared over our heads.

There’s nothing quite as joyful or magical as watching your child’s eyes light up in wonder during a theatre show, and sharing that moment together.

It was the perfect introduction to the theatre for children who may not have been to see a show before, with gentle, calming music, and soothing narration by Sir Derek Jacobi.

There were a few tears from some when it all came to an end, but that’s testament to it being a great show, leaving the young audience wanting more rather than restless for it to end.

The Anvil provides a great venue for children’s shows, with a room to park pushchairs, which doubled up as a relaxing space for children who might be feeling a little overwhelmed, and plenty of booster seats for those struggling to see. Although with the tiered seating this wasn’t an issue at all for my two-year-old who had a perfect view.

We even managed to successfully navigate our way past all the eye-wateringly expensive merchandise as we left.

A successful Sunday morning’s entertainment, even if it did feel like it must be time for bed afterwards, at 11am

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